Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

Dr. Billy Taylor (1921-2010)

Straight No Chaser is the place for jazz lovers (and those who will soon be jazz lovers) to enjoy podcasts with their favorite music and artists. Winner of the 2017 JazzTimes Readers' Poll for Best Podcast, your host Jeffrey Siegel will take you inside the world of jazz, from the new releases to the best festiva;s to remembrances of jazz legends.

Dr. Billy Taylor, a great jazz pianist, composer, educator and
ambassador for music, died on Tuesday at the age of 89 from a heart
attack. He will be greatly missed, particularly here in his home
away from home, Western Massachusetts.

Taylor will be remembered for his residency as house pianist at
Birdland during the days of Charlie Parker; for the jazz
standard he wrote - "I Wish I Knew How It Feels to Be Free"; but
most importantly, he will be recalled as a jazz educator before
such a thing was thought of. He was a co-founder of the JazzMobile
program in New York, and created the Jazz at July program at the
University of Massachusetts that launched careers and dreams by the
dozens.

He also served as the Artistic Advisor for Jazz to the Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, where he developed the Louis
Armstrong Legacy series and the annual Mary Lou Williams Women in
Jazz Festival. His many honors included two Peabody Awards, an
Emmy, a Grammy, and the National Medal of Arts.